Bunny Buzz
by JA Baker
Summary: All rookie officers make mistakes when they first join the force. It just so happened that Nick's was bigger than most...
1. Code 10-100

_First time writing a_ Zootopia _story, but this is just something that's been kicking around my brain for a week or so. It's a one-off that I have no intention of continuing, but if someone else thinks they can expand upon the idea, feel free to run with it._

 _Everything is, it goes without saying, owned by Disney._

 **Bunny Buzz**

Some primal instinct told Nick to hit the ground a fraction of a second before the window exploded outwards, and he glanced up from between his paws to see Sergeant O'Roar, a veteran member of Precinct Ones SWAT team flying through the air amid a cloud of shattered glass. The Lion had a strangely happy look on his face as he landed on the hood of his own cruiser, denting the metal and cracking the windscreen. He was on his feet in a heartbeat, actually laughing as he dived back into the small coffee shop that was quickly resembling a war-zone.

Cursing under his breath, Nick reached for his radio.

"Dispatch, this is Officer Wild: we have a 10-79 at the corner of Burrow and Vine. Possible..." He paused for a moment, trying to think of the appropriate code to call in, "Possible 11-99 in progress."

" _10-4, Officer Wild._ " Clawhauser sounded as excitable as ever, " _Please stand by while we connect you to Chief Bogo._ "

"Um, Benny, are you sure that's really..." Nick started, but we quickly cut off.

" _Wild? What the hell is going on down there?_ " Chief Bogo snapped, the sound of a racing engine and police sirens clearly audible in the background, " _Last report we had was O'Roar responding to a possible 10-10 breaking out in a coffee shop? And where the hell is Officer Hopps?_ "

"It's... complicated, sir." Wild closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "Sir, Officer Hopps _is_ the 10-10."

" _What are you talking about? Officer Hopps_ is _the 10-..._ " The Buffalo trailed off for a moment as Nick's ears picked up the distant sound of sirens fast approaching, " _Officer Hopps is_ in _the coffee shop?_ "

"Yes, sir." Nick conformed, wincing at the sound of something expensive sounding breaking nearby.

" _You didn't buy her a coffee, did you?_ " Bogo sounded genuinely concerned.

"Sir?" Nick blinked, absent mindedly ducking backwards to avoid a table that came flying out of the smashed window, "What has that got to do with..."

" _Damn it, Wild!_ " Bogo snapped, " _Did you buy her a coffee?_ "

"Sir, yes sir." Wild found himself coming to attention instinctively, "She asked me to get her a hot chocolate, but she seemed a little tired today, so I got her a double-shot mocha latte instead..."

A timely burst of statistic covered whatever Bogo said, but Nick felt sure it wasn't fit for polite conversation.

" _Attention all units, this is Chief Bogo._ " the Buffalo sounded strangely calm and focused, " _We have a 10-100 at the corner of Burrow and Vine. All units in Savannah Square respond limitedly. All other nearby units remain on stand-by. Bogo, out._ "

"Clawhauser, what's a code 10-100?" Nick spoke softly into his radio, "That wasn't on the list they had us memorise at the academy."

" _A Code 10-100 is... unofficial._ " the normally jovial and talkative Cheetah sounded uncharacteristically tense, " _It stands for a Rabbit under the influence of caffeine._ "

"What?" Nick looked at his radio like it had suddenly grown two heads, "What's so bad about..."

A large and very expensive looking coffee machine sailed through the air over his head and crashed into O'Roar's cruiser, shattering the already cracked windscreen and spurting steam everywhere.

"You know what? Forget I asked." The Fox shook his head, "This is Officer Wild; show me responding to the 10-100 at Burrow and Vine."

Clipping his radio back onto his belt, Nick carefully placed his hat on the pavement, then dived into the coffee shop.

* * *

"Two police cruisers in the shop, three officers hospitalized and a coffee shop that's going to have to be almost completely rebuild, out of _our_ budget!" Bogo stood behind his desk, one eye almost completely swollen shut and a bandage wrapped around one horn, "And that's before we go into just how this is going to play with the press; you of all people should know just how closely they've been following you and Hopps. I'm only glad that we managed to get the situation under control before any camera crews showed up!"

"Sir, I..." Nick started, then his face, and shoulders, fell, "I have no excuse sir." He reached for his badge, "I'll type up a letter of resignation immediately."

"Not so fast, Wild." There was a strange softness to Bogo's voice, "You never spent much time around Rabbits? Before you met Hopps, I mean?"

"Not unless they were a mark, no." Nick nodded, unsure where the chief was going.

"Rabbits react... strongly, to caffeine." Bogo sat down heavily in his chair, "I won't try and blind you with the science, mainly because I'm not 100% sure if I understand it myself, but it makes them, well, you saw what happened to Hopps today. Sometimes a young Buck will get their hands on a shot of espresso, anomaly when they're trying to impress their friends or a potential Mate, and we'll have to tranq their arse and throw them in the drunk-tank to sleep it off. And, sometimes a rookie officer will think he's doing his partner a favour and get her a drink that contains both caffeine and sugar in large quantities, and we have a Code 10-100 on our hands."

"Is Officer Hopps... is _Judy_ going to be okay?" The worried Fox asked.

"She's stronger then she looks, but I'm sure you knew that already." Bogo snorted, "I hear O'Roar is already bragging in the locker room about being able to hold his own against her while she was on 'C'."

Nick nodded slowly; he'd made the mistake of entering a sparring ring with Judy, exactly once. He wasn't even sure why she felt the need to carry Fox Repellent when she first joined the force, given just how soundly she'd beaten him, and now tended to just sit and watch her go ten rounds with the like of McHorn and the other, larger members of the ZPD. Seeing such a little Rabbit zip around the ring, delivering painful looking kicks to Rhinos, Elephants and Bears was more than enough to convince Nick that his partner could hold her own in any fight.

But that was nothing compared to what he'd seen in the coffee shop that day.

"She'll be fine, once she gets it out of her system." Bogo assured his subordinate, "Tonight will be the hardest part; even with the amount of tranquilliser we pumped into her before she went down, she's going to be... jittery, for a few hours yet."

"Permission to go to the hospital, sir?" Nick asked, hopefully, "It's all my fault; I should be there to help her."

"Very well." Bogo stood, "I was going down there to check on her and the others anyway; you can ride with me."

* * *

The image of his partner, normally so annoyingly full of life, laying deathly still on a hospital bed, hooked up to monitors and an IV to replenish lost fluids and nutrients was something Nick knew was going to haunt him for years to come. If he was able to stop grinning at how silly she looked laying in a bed obviously intended for a far larger animal, like a Wolf or a Lynx, that was.

"The doctors think she should be coming round any time now." Bogo stood towering over the far shorter Fox, his hands clasped behind his back, "Until then, they have no real way of knowing just how much of the caffeine is still in her system."

"Someone should call her family." Nick kept his eyes fixed on the sleeping Rabbit, "They shouldn't hear about this on the TV or in the papers."

"It's already done." The chief nodded, "I'm going to call them myself, once I get back to the station, to update them."

"Tell them..." Nick hesitated, "Tell them I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt her in any way."

"I'll let them know." Bogo headed for the door, "You may not want to be here when she wakes up. A Rabbit coming down from a caffeine high can be... unpredictable."

"No, I owe her that much at least." The Fox shook his head, pulling his chair up to the bed, his eyes glancing at the almost comically oversized restraints that the medical staff had insisted upon when they heard they were dealing with a code 10-100, "She's one of the few friends I have."

"As you wish." Bogo opened the door and stepped out into the hall, glancing over his shoulder to see Judy string, "Don't say I didn't warn you."

There was an audible click as the Buffalo closed the door, followed by a far louder thud of a large bolt being thrown, locking Nick in the room. He felt the fur on the back of his neck stand on end as Judy sleepily opened her eyes and smiled what would only be called a predatory smile.

"Hi Nicky." There was an unmistakable and very un-Judy like tone to her voice, "Whatcha doin'?"

* * *

Chief Bogo chuckled as Nick hit the thick window in the soundproof door to the equally soundproof room where the Fox was getting a first hand lesson in what happened when a Doe got over the hyperactive stage of a caffeine high. Given that it wasn't technically illegal for Rabbits to buy and use the chemical, he'd heard tell that some couples used it... recreationally; a little something to spice up their love life. He didn't want to image what the Fox was being exposed to as his terrified face slid slowly down the window, his claws leaving deep grooves in the thick glass.

"Excuse me, Chief." Clawhauser walked up to his superior, glanced into the isolation room and winced, "I'm sorry, but the press office is asking for something to give the reporters about what happened today."

"Inform them that it was an unfortunate lapse by an individual," Bogo smiled, "that has now been dealt with by internal disciplinary procedures."

"One Number Five coming right up." Clawhauser nodded and looked again into the room, where Judy seemed to be talking so fast he wasn't sure how she was finding time to breath, tugging at the restraints holding her down while Nick lay huddled in one corner, clutching his own tail like a drowning animal grasping a life-preserver, his eyes wide and full of terror. "I kind of feel sorry for him."

"Consider it aversion therapy." Bogo laughed as he walked off, "One night of this, and he'll never even let her _near_ a coffee shop ever again."

 **The End**

Police codes:  
10-79 Need assistance  
11-99 Officer needs help  
10-10 Fight in progress


	2. The Morning After The Night Before

_Okay, never intended to continue this, but I can't help but feel that there should have been a little more added at the end of the last chapter.  
_ _Oh, and look out for an unexpected cameo or two..._

 **Bunny Buzz:  
** **The Morning After The Night Before...**

Judy woke, her head pounding like the floor of the family home when her brothers got into a leg-thumping contest. She tried to reach up and rub her forehead, but found something holding her arms down. Slowly opening her eyes, she found herself strapped into a hospital bed, her mind racing as best it could to try and work out what happened. Her body felt numb, but it was more the feeling she got after a good workout in the gym rather than the wrapped in wool feel of being medicated. Aside from a few small bandages, she couldn't see any sign of injury, so she evidently wasn't hurt too badly.

Looking around the room, she spotted Nick in a chair beside the bed. It was obviously intended for a far larger animal, and he was laying on his back, his head resting on one arm while his legs and tail hung over the others. He looked surprisingly peaceful, with a faint, mischievous smile on his face, and she felt it a shame to wake him, but it was the quickest way to get answers.

"Nick?" She called out, making him stir slightly but remain sleeping, "NICK?"

The Fox fell out of the chair, landing on all fours, then quickly scurried around behind the chair, only to reappear looking over the top, his ears pressed down flat against the top of his head.

"Judy?" He asked hesitantly, "How you feeling?"

"Like I was bit by a bus." The Rabbit yawned, "What happened?"

"How much do you remember?" Nick asked, keeping such a tight grip on the chair that his knuckles were turning white.

"I remember us walking down Burrow Avenue in Savannah Square, and you saying something about getting a drink..." Judy's eyes narrowed, "Everything after that is just...nothing."

"You don't remember any of it?" Nick's eyes popped up inquisitively, "O'Roar? The Code 10-100? Last night?"

"Code 10-100?" Judy blinked, "What bunny was stupid enough to..."

She trailed off when she saw the way her partner was looking at her.

"Oh no..." She groaned, "How?"

"It was all my fault." Nick let go of his death grip of the chair and sank to his feet, finding it impossible to look his friend in the eye, "You said you were tired after being up half the night doing paperwork, and I had no idea what caffeine did to Rabbits..."

"Oh god, Nick!" Judy closed her eyes and put her head back against the pillow, "Chief Bogo is going to kill me."

"Oh, I think I'm still top of his ' _needs killing_ ' list: I'm the one who bought you the coffee without telling you it wasn't hot chocolate" Nick managed a cocky smile, "I'm honestly surprised that I'm not stuffed and mounted on his office wall already." He looked suddenly thoughtful, "Maybe that's why he locked me in here last night..."

"You where here all night?" Judy sat bolt upright, her eyes suddenly wide as saucers, "How bad was it?"

"That which has been heard cannot be unheard." A somewhat glazed expression came over the Fox, the kind of look more becoming of a combat veteran.

"Oh god!" the Rabbits ears flopped down over her eyes, "You were never supposed to hear any of that!"

"I honestly never expected you to be..." Nick shook himself, "I guess it's true what they say about the uptight, strait-laced 'by-the-book' types; they've always got a kinky side, buried away deep inside."

"Stop, please!" Judy begged, "I... caffeine tends to strip away a Bunnies inhibitions, once the initial high wares off. Whatever I said, well, it's not the kind of things I'd normally say."

"I hope so." Nick nodded, "I mean, I _like you_ and all, but not _that_ way."

"Oh god!" Judy's head dropped until her nose was pressed against her chest, "Just kill me now!"

"Come on, Carrots." Nick came out from behind the chair and claimed up onto the bed, sitting next to his friend and took her paw in his own, "It wasn't all that bad, not really. I've heard worse from the working Vixens while walking down Sunset Avenue in Nocturnal on a Friday night." He laughed, "I'm only going to say this because you're strapped down and can't hit me, but to be perfectly honest, in many ways you're still the sweet, innocent, dare I say even _naïve_ little Bunny who first arrived in the city just over a year ago. You just caught me off guard, that's all."

"Really?" One of Judy's ears lifted up, and she eyed the Fox suspiciously, "Because if you're just saying that..."

"Cross my heart and hope to be road-kill." her partner criss-crossed his chest, "No one but me heard you say anything, and trust me when I say it's something I'll be taking to my grave."

"Oh thank god!" the Rabbit relax, allowing the tension to flow out of her body.

"You just rest while I go tell the doctor's you're awake." Nick dropped down to the floor, "You're going to be okay, Judy, I promises you."

* * *

"Do we have to do this _now_?" Judy stood before the large doors, her long ears hanging down the back of her head, "The Chief would give me another day or twenty off if I asked, right?"

"Somehow I don't see Buffalo-Butt agreeing to that." Nick teased, "Come on. What the worst that could happen?"

"You just had to say it, didn't you?" His partner asked as she pushed the door open and stepped into Precinct One.

"I GOT RIGHTS, MAN! I GOT RIGHTS!" A Leopard in what looked like a gang jacked protested loudly as McHorn and Grizzoli dragged him kicking and screaming towards Clawhauser's desk, "HE CAME AT ME, MAN; IT WAS SELF DEFENCE! POLICE BRUTALITY! POLICE BRUTALITY!"

"Shut you're mouth before I show you what _real_ police brutality is!" A large Bear dressed in a suit and overcoat pointed an accusing finger at the prisoner, who went silent out of shock.

"I want a lawyer!" the Leopard protested after recovering the power of speech.

"And I wanna hump Britt Elkland. What are we gonna do?" The Bear replied sarcastically, then turned to the other two officers, "Book him, throw him in a cell, then find the poor sod who's going to be representing him."

"Sir." Grizzoli nodded with a smile.

"Right then." The Bear rubbed his paws with obvious glee as he looked around the foyer, stopping when he noticed Nick and Judy, "Officers Wild and Hopps; just who I was hoping to run into today."

"Inspector Hunt?" Nick swallowed hard, his ears going flat against his head.

The Bear was something of a legend in Zootopia, having been brought in to try and clean up the cities North Side. Originally from Moochester by way of Liondon, his hard-edged, no-nonsense approach to policing had ruffled more than a little fur, but there was no arguing with the fact that he got results. In the two years since he had taken over Metro North, he'd cut crime by more than half, and had boosted officer moral to a level that rivalled Precinct One. In part this was due to his willingness, some would say eagerness, to get his claws dirty on the streets with the officers under him command, and partly because he'd back them up all the way to City Hall. And given just how far his work had gone towards revitalising the North Side, the City Council was more than willing to overlook a few complaints over his 'Tranq first, ask questions later' policy.

"Hopps, I'd heard you were good in the ring, but I always put that down to gossip. Expect me to be looking your way if we ever need an undercover Bunny." Hunt towered over the other two officers, "And Wild, I'm not too proud to admit that I didn't think you'd last two weeks on the force, what with your reputation. But if even half of what O'Roar told me is true, then I'm surprised you don't have to walk bow-legged." He reached into his jacket and pulled out a bottle wrapped in brown paper, which he handed to the startled Fox, "A little something from everyone at Metro North, to show our respect."

With that the Bear turned and strode out the door.

"Now, if anyone wants me, I'll be out trying to find a Judge willing to sign a search warrant without looking too closely at the fine print."

"Well, that was strange." Judy blinked as the doors swung shut behind the departing Inspector. "What did he give you?"

"Let's have a look." Nick carefully unwrapped the package to discover a bottle of rich, arbour liquid inside, "Oh sweet mother of..." He carefully inspected the label and the seal to make sure it was genuine and hadn't been tampered with in any way, "Red Hart 18-Year Old Special Reserve!"

"And that's...good?" The Rabbit asked.

"It's a $200 bottle of Single Malt all the way from Stagland is what it is!" Nick held the bottle like a mother holding her newborn, "I've heard stories, but I've never even _seen_ a bottle before."

"And that's good?" Judy repeated herself.

"Carrots, I know you like a glass of sparkling cider, but trust me, you haven't _lived_ to you've tried a real, honest-to-God Highland single malt. And the Red Hart 18-Year Old Special Reserve is one of the best on the market." A strange, far-away look came over the Fox's face, "My grandfather was a bit of a self-taught expert when it came to whisky; or as my grandmother used to put it, a Single Malt Snob, and he used to tell me stories of the time he got to try a glass of Red Hart. I never through I'd ever get to experience it for myself."

"Sounds nice." Judy stood up on her tip-toes to get a better look, "What do you mix it with?"

"I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that." Nick replied coolly, "I see I'm going to have to educate you."

Trying his best to put his partners blasphemous question behind him, Nick led the way to the cubical that passed for their office. It had been built to accommodate a mammal as big as a Rhino or Elephant, it was more than big enough to accommodate a pair of desks more their size. Nick carefully the bottle of whisky in the bottom draw of his desk and locked it in, while Judy examined a box sitting in front of her computer terminal.

"What's in the box?" Nick asked playfully, "What's in the box?"

"I should _never_ have agreed to watch that movie with you." Judy gingerly lifted the lid off of the box to reveal a wooden plaque, upon which had been mounted four standard-issue tranquilliser darts. Above them as a silver plate with 'Judith Laverne Hopps' and 'Code 10-100' engraved on it, while the wood around the darts had been signed by every member of Precinct One's SWAT Team.

"That's how many darts you took before you went down." Nick explained, resting a friendly paw on her shoulder, "Not counting the ones that missed."

"Aye, we thought it only right to commemorate the achievement." Sargent O'Roar lent against the cubical door with a big smile on his face, "More than a few of the boys are out at the range, brushing up on their marksmanship after your little performance the other day."

"I hope I didn't hurt anyone too badly." Judy asked, embarrassed.

"Oh for sure, it was no worse that a Saturday night growing up back in Bullfast. Stories I could tell you of what my brothers and I go up to back then would make your fur turn white." O'Roar laughed, then slapped Nick on the back hard enough to almost knock the Fox over, "You're partner here is the real hero of the hour; I know officers ten times his size who wouldn't go near a 10-100 in full riot gear, let along jump in in just their duty uniform. Well, maybe Mad Jimmy Howl, but he's a Wolverine, and they're all a bit daft in the head if you ask me. No, that's the kind of thing that takes big brass ones. Lot of animals round here looking at you differently today, Wild, mark my words."

"I got that impression." Nick eyed the draw holding the bottle Hunt had given him.

"I don't pay you to stand around gossiping all day." Chief Bogo appeared, his eye still swollen, but not nearly as bad as it had been.

"Chief." O'Roar nodded, waved to the other two and walked off.

"I have a mountain of paperwork with your names on it that I want done by Friday." Bogo tuned to leave, then stopped and turned his to one side, "The 18-Year Old?"

"Special Reserve." Nick nodded, "There'll be a _wee dram_ of it waiting for you at the end of shift."

"Hunt may be a pain in my hide, but he knows his whisky." the Buffalo snorted, "Now get back to work. And no Coffee Breaks!"

 **The End**


End file.
